Blown Away, Cato's POV
by Ultimate Thorny Rose
Summary: This is the story Blown Away told entirely through Cato's point of view. Chapters that did not include Cato in the story Blown Away will be replaced with missing moments. Disclaimer: I only own the plot. Sequel to Blown Away.
1. Chapter 1: Expelled

Chapter 1: Expelled

My name is Cato Alec Donovan. I'm 15 years old. I have fair skin, icy blue eyes, and blonde hair. I go to Capitol Academy, a fancy private school in New York for boys from rich families. The faculty is really strict. The simplest prank can cause a boy to get expelled and put into the public school system. The female counterpart of Capitol Academy is Tribute Academy.

Capital Academy has a uniform policy, as does Tribute Academy. The boys at Capitol Academy and the girls at Tribute Academy sleep in dorms. On holidays, we go home and visit our parents.

I have a close circle of friends- Tyler, Dean, Jacob, and Will. A lot of people want to be our friends. We're all pretty rich.

I'm dating a girl from Tribute Academy named Amy. She wears a lot of makeup. I don't know why a lot of girls feel the need to cake themselves in makeup. It's not attractive.

Anyway, Will decided to throw a party tonight at his parents' place, which is within walking distance from Capitol Academy. His parents were away on a business trip for a week. Will invited everyone from Capitol Academy and Tribute Academy to this party.

About a minute after I showed up to the party, I saw my girlfriend on a couch, sitting on another guy's lap, making out with him.

"What the hell?!"

"Oh, hi Cato." Amy said. "I'm breaking up with you. I meant to tell you after school but I totally forgot to text you." She turned to the guy and sloppily threw herself on him. It was clear that she'd been drinking. "Sean, you're my new boyfriend!" Sean and Amy began kissing. The kiss was sloppy, as drunk kisses often are.

I walked away from the couple and sat down with the guys (Tyler, Dean, Jacob, and Will) on another couch. "Hey guys."

"Hey Cato." Dean said.

"So, I caught Amy kissing Sean." I said. "She said she had meant to break up with me sooner but forgot."

"Damn, that sucks." Will said to me. "Do you need a drink to get over it? Drinks can help you get over ANYTHING!"

"I don't need a drink to get over Amy." I said. "I want a drink. Wanting and needing something are two different things."

"I'll be right back with your drink." Will got up from the couch.

"Get us some too!" Dean, Jacob, and Tyler said. Will nodded and went to the kitchen. He came back with red solo cups filled with alcoholic beverages. What kind, I had no idea, but I didn't care. Alcohol is alcohol.

The party had started at eight, and two hours later, everyone was drunk off their asses. Will had convinced me to do karaoke.

The instrumental beat of the song Don't Stop Believin' by Journey blasted from the karaoke machine that belonged to Will's dad, and I began to sing...VERY off key, I might add, but who cares?

_Just a small town girl_

_Livin' in a lonely world_

_She took the midnight train_

_Goin' anywhere_

_Just a city boy_

_Born and raised in South Detroit_

_He took the midnight train_

_Goin' anywhere_

_A singer in a smokey room_

_A smell of wine and cheap perfume_

_For a smile they can share the night_

_It goes on and on and on and on_

_Strangers waiting_

_Up and down the boulevard_

_Their shadows searching_

_In the night_

_Streetlights, people_

_Livin' just to find emotion_

_Hidin' somewhere in the night_

_Workin' hard to get my fill_

_Everybody wants a thrill_

_Payin' anything to roll the dice_

_Just one more time_

_Some will win_

_Some will lose_

_Some were born to sing the blues_

_Oh, the movie never ends_

_It goes on and on and on and on_

_Strangers waiting_

_Up and down the boulevard_

_Their shadows searching_

_In the night_

_Streetlights, people_

_Livin' just to find emotion_

_Hidin' somewhere in the night_

_Don't stop believin'_

_Hold on to that feelin'_

_Streetlights, people_

_Don't stop believin'_

_Hold on_

_Streetlights, people_

_Don't stop believin'_

_Hold on to that feelin'_

_Streetlights, people_

Will convinced me to do another round of karaoke. This time, I sang the song Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus...and, once again, I was VERY off key.

_Her name is Noel_

_I have a dream about her_

_She rings my bell_

_I got gym class in half an hour_

_Oh, how she rocks_

_In Keds and tube socks_

_But she doesn't know who I am_

_And she doesn't give a damn about me_

_'Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby_

_Yeah, I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby_

_Listen to Iron Maiden maybe with me_

_Her boyfriend's a dick_

_And he brings a gun to school_

_And he'd simply kick_

_My ass if he knew the truth_

_He lives on my block_

_And he drives an IROC_

_But he doesn't know who I am_

_And he doesn't give a damn about me_

_'Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby_

_Yeah, I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby_

_Listen to Iron Maiden maybe with me_

_Oh, yeah, dirtbag, no, she doesn't know what she's missin'_

_Oh, yeah, dirtbag, no, she doesn't know what she's missin'_

_Man, I feel like mold_

_It's prom night and I am lonely_

_Low and behold_

_She's walking over to me_

_This must be fake_

_My lip starts to shake_

_How does she know who I am?_

_And why does she give a damn about me_

_I've got two tickets to Iron Maiden, baby_

_Come with me Friday, don't say "maybe"_

_I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby, like you_

_Oh, yeah, dirtbag, no, she doesn't know what she's missin'_

_Oh, yeah, dirtbag, no, she doesn't know what she's missin'_

My friends had lost it when I sang the female parts of the song in a high pitched girly voice.

By ten thirty, Jacob was the drunkest person at the party. Before him, I had been the drunkest person. Jacob called Taco Bell and ordered 100 tacos- 50 for me and 50 for himself. We had a contest to see who could devour 50 tacos faster. I won. My time was 9 minutes. I had to barf really bad afterwards.

At eleven, Tyler started up a game of truth or dare. I was dared, by the drunkest person at the party, Jacob, to make out with the person to my left, who just so happened to be the most innocent person at Tribute Academy, Madge Undersee.

Needless to say, after that make out session, Madge lost her innocence. I took her up to Will's parents' room and we had sex for about ten minutes. I was Madge's first, but she was not my first, Amy was. We started dating when we were 14, and had sex a week before today. We took each other's v-cards.

At eleven thirty, Will started up the karaoke machine again and sang the song Everybody by the Backstreet Boys. Unlike me, he actually sang somewhat on-key.

_Everybody, yeah_

_Rock your body, yeah_

_Everybody, yeah_

_Rock your body right_

_Backstreet's back, alright_

_Hey, yeah_

_Oh my God, we're back again_

_Brothers, sisters, everybody sing_

_Gonna bring the flavor, show you how_

_Gotta question for you better answer now, yeah_

_Am I original?_

_Yeah_

_Am I the only one?_

_Yeah_

_Am I sexual?_

_Yeah_

_Am I everything you need?_

_You better rock your body now_

_Everybody_

_Yeah_

_Rock your body_

_Yeah_

_Everybody_

_Rock your body right_

_Backstreet's back, alright_

_Alright_

_Now throw your hands up in the air_

_Wave them around like you just don't care_

_If you wanna party let me hear you yell_

_Cuz we got it goin' on again_

_Yeah_

_Am I original?_

_Yeah_

_Am I the only one?_

_Yeah_

_Am I sexual?_

_Yeah_

_Am I everything you need?_

_You better rock your body now_

_Everybody_

_Yeah_

_Rock your body_

_Yeah_

_Everybody_

_Rock your body right_

_Backstreet's back, alright_

_Alright_

_So everybody, everywhere_

_Don't be afraid, don't have no fear_

_I'm gonna tell the world, make you understand_

_As long as there'll be music, we'll be comin' back again_

_Everybody, yeah_

_Rock your body, yeah_

_Everybody_

_Rock your body right _

_Rock your body right_

_Backstreet's back_

_Everybody _

_Everybody_

_Yeah _

_Rock your body_

_Rock your body _

_Everybody_

_Yeah _

_Everybody rock your body_

_Everybody _

_Everybody, rock your body_

_Rock your body right _

_Everybody_

_Backstreet's back, alright_

Capitol Academy's principal, Haymitch Abernathy, had given all the students his cell phone number in case of an emergency. Three minutes after Will finished singing Everybody, I drunk dialed his cell and asked for a blowjob. I'm going to regret this when I re-gain my sobriety...

"Who is this?!" Haymitch's voice came from the other end of the line.

"Homer Sexual." I replied. Tyler burst out laughing.

"Cato, I know it's you." Haymitch said. "My office, NOW!"

By the sound of that seriousness, Haymitch is sober.

"This late at night?" I asked.

"Yes," came Haymitch's deadpan reply.

I turned to the crowd of drunk teenagers. "Sorry, everyone, but I gotta go."

I made my way to Haymitch's office.

"Sit down, Cato."

I sat down in the chair across from Haymitch's desk.

"Too much drinking is not good for you." Haymitch said to me. That sounded rather ironic coming from him, considering he calls in sick half the time due to being hung-over. "You know we have rules against drinking on a school night. I don't care if you were on campus or not; you broke the rules, and now you will be punished. You're expelled."

Outraged, I stood up. "What?!"

"Sit down, Cato."

I sat back down in the chair.

"Go to your dorm, pack your stuff, then come back here." Haymitch said to me. "I'm going to call your mother and get her to come get you."

On the ride home, mom yelled at me. "I can't believe you did that! Drinking on a school night...how could you be so stupid?! You never drank until you started hanging out with Jacob and Will, and Tyler and Dean didn't either. I tried to tell you that Jacob and Will were bad influences, but you didn't listen. Since I know that if we stay in New York, you won't stay away from Jacob and Will, we're going to move to California."

"What?! We can't move! I have friends here!"

"You'll find plenty of new friends in California." Mom said. "I know you'll like it, Cato. It's got an abundant amount of sunshine, awesome sunsets, beaches, and plenty of fun things to do."

"How do you know so much about California?"

"I grew up there." Mom said.

"You never told me that."

"Well, now you know." Mom said.

"I get hot easily." I said. "California will be a nightmare for me."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic."

**A/N: Please review this chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2: Moving Day

Chapter 2: Moving Day

The same hills had been rolling by the backseat window for what seemed like days. I turned on the radio. The song Beekeeper's Daughter by The All-American Rejects was playing through the speakers.

_I've been goin' a thousand ways_

_Choked a hundred hearts in half as many days_

_Oh no, I think so_

_And I get so lost inside this city_

_You ugly girls all look so pretty, it's true_

_What am I supposed to do?_

_I still got you waitin'_

_Look out your window_

_What do you see?_

_You don't see me_

_You're a pretty little flower_

_I'm a busy little bee_

_Honey, that's all you need to see_

_I can take you for an hour_

_But then I'm gonna leave_

_Honey I know you'll wait for me_

_Laaadadadadaaa_

I watched the green grasses pass by the window, and I slowly fell into a light sleep. I was vaguely aware of my mom turning off the radio so she could hear the super annoying GPS she had bought the night before we started driving to California. "Turn right on Mockingjay Lane."

I felt the car turn right. Mom stopped the car and parked it. My dad reached to the backseat and gently tapped my right shoulder, waking me up. "We're here."

I looked at my new home. It looked like it would be a bit of a fixer-upper.

"Did you even buy this place?" I asked my mom.

"No." She said. "There was an elderly couple that used to live here, Alexander and Sally Harrison. They died a while ago. This house has been vacant for years. It's about time someone moved in."

I'm not sure moving into a house without buying it was legal, but I wasn't going to question it.

"I'll call my brother Nate on my cell phone and get him to help me fix the house." Dad said. My uncle Nate, his wife Shay, and my cousins Cashmere and Gloss Donovan live on this road. "It should only take a few hours."

I look exactly like my dad. My mom has brown hair, fair skin, and hazel eyes. Nate looks a lot like my dad as well, only he has his mom's brown eyes. He's two years older than my dad.

My mom turned to me. "Cato, why don't you go walking and do a little sightseeing while I help your dad and Nate fix the house?"

I nodded. "Yeah, sure."

I decided to go to the beach. My mom was right; California is a nice place. I was also right about it being hot. I rolled up the legs of my blue denim jeans and took off my white sneakers and walked along the warm sand.

When I returned to the house two hours later, it was completely fixed. It looked pretty nice.

The moving van pulled into the driveway.

"Now we can officially move in!" My mom said.

Dad and I helped the movers bring in boxes while mom told us where she wanted everything.

That night, I settled down in bed. My room here looks exactly like my room back in New York. I had made it that way.

I soon fell asleep.

**A/N: Please review this chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3: First Day Of School

Chapter 3: First Day Of School

It was my first day at my new school, and a few classes had gone by. Currently, I'm in science, standing on the left side of the teacher, Cinna Maxwell, in front of a room full of teenagers talking amongst themselves.

Cinna got everyone's attention. ″Everyone, we have a new student joining us today. This is Cato Donovan. He's 15 years old, like all of you, and he transferred to Panem High School from Capitol Academy.″

″Welcome to our class, Cato!″ Cinna exclaimed. ″The only seat left is the empty seat next to Clove. You'll be sitting there for the rest of the semester.″

I took a seat next to Clove, a gorgeous girl with long straight black hair and fair skin, and sea green eyes. She had on a white tank top with a black leather jacket over it (the jacket was unzipped), a pair of blue denim skinny jeans, and a pair of black Converse high tops with white laces. Her hair was down.

Cinna called attendance. I discovered that Clove's last name was Odair. Why does that last name sound so familiar?

″What's your middle name?″ I asked Clove. I was making small talk.

″Jade.″ Clove replied.

"Clove Jade Odair." The name rolled off my tongue very nicely. "That's a nice name."

"Thanks." Clove said. "What's your middle name? I know we're making small talk."

"How'd you guess?" I asked her.

She gave a small smile. "It was kind of obvious."

"Okay, well…my middle name is Alec." I said. ″Why does your last name sound so familiar, Clove?″

″My parents, Laura and Emmett, are big time celebs.″ Clove said. ″I should say were, actually, considering they're no longer celebrities.″

″Really?″ I asked with interest. ″Why is that?″

″You mean you haven't seen the newspapers?″ Clove asked me.

I shook my head. ″New York newspapers only focus on celebrities from New York.″

″My mom was a singer. She died in a car wreck. My dad was an actor. He doesn't act anymore.″ Clove said.

″Why?″ I asked with interest.

Clove pulled out her cell phone and, making sure the teacher wasn't looking, handed me the phone. ″See for yourself.″

I read the article on the site her phone was on. Her dad was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in jail, on the charge of serious alcohol abuse.

I handed Clove her cell phone. She put it back in the pocket of her jacket. ″A life prison sentenced seems awfully harsh for something as minor…well, compared to some other crimes at least…as alcohol abuse. You sure he didn't do anything else?″

Clove got defensive on me. ″I'm sure. Now…if you would be so kind as to not ask me anymore questions about my parents…that would be greatly appreciated.″

″Sorry.″ I apologized.

Clove's expression softened. ″I'm sorry for snapping at you. It's just…I didn't like that you asked me questions about my parents. I get enough questions from the press.″

″Enough about me.″ Clove said to me. ″Let's talk about you. Your last name sounds really familiar as well. I know the identical blonde twins Cashmere and Gloss Donovan. They're in my English class. I have English after lunch. Are Cashmere and Gloss related to you?"

″I have English after lunch too.″ I said. ″Cashmere and Gloss are my cousins. They're my dad's brother Nate's kids. They're a month older than me.″

″Why did you transfer from an elite school like Capitol Academy to an average public school?″ Clove asked me.

″I got really drunk one night at a party, did some stupid stuff, and got expelled.″ I said. ″The principal, Haymitch Abernathy, was the one who expelled me. He said ″too much drinking is not good for you″. That sounded rather ironic coming from him, considering he calls in sick half the time due to being hung-over.″

″I'm not such a party animal anymore.″ I said.

″Your principal was right.″ Clove said. ″Too much drinking is not good for you. It fucks people up. I know that better than anyone. It landed my father in jail, for crying out loud!"

The bell signalling the end of class and the start of lunch rang. I went to my assigned locker. Gloss and Cashmere walked up to me.

″Hey Cato.″ Cashmere said. ″How's your day going?″

"Good." I said. "Panem High is a pretty good school. The girls here are much hotter than the girls at Tribute Academy." Sometimes Capitol Academy and Tribute Academy would go on field trips together. "Especially this one girl, Clove Odair."

"Oh, I know Clove." Gloss said. "I also know her fraternal twin brother Finnick. He's in my math class. Cashmere's not. She has history when I have math."

"Clove and Finnick are the paparazzo's babies." Cashmere said. "Whenever they're on TV, they get bombarded with questions. The poor things."

"I asked Clove some questions about her parents, and she got all defensive on me." I said.

"Well, you can't really blame her for getting defensive." Gloss reasoned. "Your dad being sent to prison and your mom getting killed in a car wreck aren't exactly things you'd bring up in casual conversation."

"I guess you're right." I said.

"If you want to get close to Clove, don't bother." Cashmere said to me. "She refuses to have a serious conversation with anyone that's not in her close circle of friends."

"What makes you think I want to get close to Clove?" I asked. Cashmere wasn't wrong. I was developing a crush on her. I don't know if it's possible to develop a crush on someone when you barely know them. It must be.

"Well, almost everyone in school wants to be friends with Clove and Finnick." Cashmere said. "They're famous because their parents were big time celebrities. Even though their parents aren't celebrities anymore, they're still the two richest people in California. Everyone wants to be friends with people from a rich family, right?"

"Well, yeah." I said. "I wasn't the richest person at Capitol Academy, but a lot of people wanted to be my friend."

"Clove refuses to make friends with anyone." Cashmere said. "She's happy with just her close circles of friends."

"Why don't you sit with us at lunch today?" Gloss suggested. "It's only your first day. You've got the rest of the semester to attempt to make friends with Clove, even though your attempts will probably fail. You can sit with her another day."

"Okay." I said. I followed Cashmere and Gloss towards the cafeteria.

**A/N: Please review this chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I spotted Clove sitting next to Annie on the bleachers and sat on the other side of her. "Hey Clove."

"Hey Cato." Clove said. "Not to be rude or anything, but what are you doing here? Don't you have parents to go home to?"

"Not today." I said. "They both have to work until 8 tonight. Gloss and Cashmere are on the team, and I figured staying to watch the meet and letting them take me to their place would be more fun than going home and spending the rest of the day alone."

"Fair enough." Clove said. "What street do you live on?"

"The same one as Gloss and Cashmere, Mockingjay Lane." I said. "It's not like it's out of their way to take me to their house."

"What house do you live in?" Clove asked. "A lot of houses went up for sale recently."

"The old Harrison place." I said. "Apparently, that house has been vacant for years. It was a bit of a fixer-upper, but my dad and uncle managed to fix it. It looks pretty nice now. Where do you live?"

"Finnick and I live with our friend Finch in the Foxworthy house." I said. "We've lived there ever since our dad got sent to jail. We'll have to live there until we're old enough to move out, since our dad has to spend the rest of his life in prison. We don't have any relatives living in California."

"Don't you get hot, wearing jackets and hoodies and jeans every day?" I asked Clove.

"No." Clove said. "I don't get hot easily. Neither does Finnick.

"I get hot easily." I said. "That's why I wear shorts and t-shirts or tank tops to school every day."

"Would the stars of the Panem High School Cardinals and the District High School Bobcats track teams please get into position?" A voice boomed into the intercom. "The first race is about to start."

"In the public school system, it's tradition for the stars of each team to race each other to start off a track meet." Clove explained to me.

"In the private school system, it's the opposite." I said.

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed to Clove as I saw Katniss cross the finish line long before the other girl did. She went so fast that I could barely see her! I caught a glimpse of the girls' uniforms during the race.

The back of the uniforms read their last names: Everdeen and Brooks. The front of the uniforms read their numbers. Katniss was number 17. The other girl was number 23. "Katniss went so fast that I could barely see her!"

"She's the star of the track team for a reason." Clove said. "She's a fantastic athlete."

"No kidding." I agreed. "That was awesome!"

"Number 20 of the Panem High School Cardinals and number 21 of the District High School Bobcats, please get into position." A voice boomed into the intercom. "The next race is about to start."

"The public school system has a one against one system when it comes to track." Clove explained to me. "Only two people are allowed to race each other at one time."

Katniss planted herself on the bleachers in front of me. She had a water bottle grasped in her right hand. She took a swig from the bottle.

"You totally whopped that other girl's ass." Clove said to her. "Great job."

"Thanks Clove." Katniss said.

Finch is number 20. She's not as good as Katniss, but she's pretty good. I don't know why Peeta's not at this meet.

I heard the horn's obnoxious blare and saw Finch push forward, racing towards the finish line.

"Go Finch!" Annie yelled.

"Come on, Foxworthy!" Katniss yelled. Athletes have this thing where they call each other by their last names while cheering each other on during a sporting event.

"You can win this race, Finch!" Clove yelled.

Finch crossed the finish line before the other girl did.

Finch planted herself on the bleachers in front of me, and next to Katniss. She had a water bottle grasped in her right hand. She took a swig from the bottle.

"Nice race." I said to her.

"Thanks." She said to me.

Marvel was on the other side of Finch. "Great race, babe."

She grinned. "Thanks sweetheart."

Soon it was time for the last race. Finnick's up.

He pushed forward and crossed the finish line. He ended up crossing the finish line before the other guy.

Panem High ended up winning the most points during the meet, since most of the athletes on our team won their races.

Annie ran over to Finnick and engulfed him in a hug. "Great job, sweetheart!"

"Thanks babe." He planted a kiss on her forehead.

Everyone else walked over to Finnick.

"Great race, Odair." Katniss said.

"Thanks Everdeen." Finnick said.

"Great race, Finnick." Clove said to her brother. She hugged him. "If you keep this up, you could be next year's track star."

"Oh, I wouldn't count on that." Katniss said cockily. "I plan on keeping my title of track star until I graduate. Nobody will be able to take it. Nobody's as good as me."

Careful, Everdeen." Finch warned. "Your cockiness could come back to bite you in the ass someday."

"Let's go get some ice cream to celebrate your awesome race." Annie said.

"Okay." Finnick waved to the others before following Annie off the track.

"I should get going too." I said to the others. "Gloss and Cashmere are probably waiting for me."

"Okay." Katniss said. "See you later, Cato."

"See you later." I waved to the others before heading over to Gloss and Cashmere.

Clove's friends seem to be nice people. Maybe I'll become friends with them someday.

**A/N: Please review this chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5: The Song

Chapter 5: The Song

I decided I'd try out for Panem High's football team. I played football at my old school. Public schools were allowed to play private schools in sporting events, and Panem High whooped our asses every time they played us. Their football team is really good.

I needed to get back in shape so I'd be ready for tryouts. I headed to the park and ran a few laps. I stopped running laps when I heard guitar playing and singing.

___Dry lightning cracks across the skies  
Those storm clouds gather in her eyes  
Her daddy was a mean old mister  
Mama was an angel in the ground  
The weather man called for a twister  
She prayed blow it down_

Directly in front of me was Clove, sitting on a park bench. She was playing a Gibson Hummingbird Heritage Cherry Sunburst acoustic guitar. She had a really good voice.

___There's not enough rain in Oklahoma  
To wash the sins out of that house  
There's not enough wind in Oklahoma  
To rip the nails out of the past_

By now, everyone had stopped whatever they were doing to listen to Clove sing.

___Shatter every window 'til it's all blown away,  
Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away  
'Til there's nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday  
Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,  
Blown away_

She was singing with such passion in her voice. I wonder if there's a personal story behind this song.

___She heard those sirens screaming out  
Her daddy laid there passed out on the couch  
She locked herself in the cellar  
Listened to the screaming of the wind  
Some people call it taking shelter  
She called it sweet revenge_

___Shatter every window 'til it's all blown away,  
Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away  
'Til there's nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday  
Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,  
Blown away_

___There's not enough rain in Oklahoma_  
___To wash the sins out of that house_  
___There's not enough wind in Oklahoma_  
___To rip the nails out of the past_

___Shatter every window 'til it's all blown away,  
Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away  
'Til there's nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday  
Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,  
Blown away, blown away, blown away, blown away, blown away._

Clove strummed the last chord of the song, and everyone clapped. She put her guitar back in its black case and smiled at the crowd that gathered around her.

Everyone went back to what they had been doing before they listened to Clove sing.

I walked up to Clove. "You have a really good voice, and you play guitar really well."

"Thanks." Clove said. "I inherited my musical talent from my mom."

"I can tell." I said. "Do you write a lot of songs?"

"I've written a few." Clove said. "They were happy songs, unlike this one. This song is called Blown Away, and it's about child abuse."

"Well, I should get back to running laps." I said. "I gotta get in shape for tomorrow's football tryout. I want to make the team."

"Okay." Clove said. "See you at school, Cato."

I knew Clove wasn't a mean person; she just didn't want to get close to anyone outside her close circle of friends.

As I resumed running laps, there was only one thought in my mind: ___there has GOT to be a personal story behind the song Clove just sang. And I'm gonna figure out what that story is._

******A/N: Please review this chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6: Clove's Story

Chapter 6: Clove's Story

I made the football team. I got the quarterback position. I was quarterback at my old school.

After school today, I spotted Finch at her locker, talking to Marvel. He gave her a kiss on the cheek before heading out of the school's front double doors.

___Finch has GOT to know Clove's story_, I thought. ___She's a part of her close circle of friends._

I walked up to Finch. "Hey Finch."

"Hey Cato." Finch said.

I got right to it. "You're a part of Clove's close circle of friends. What's her story?"

An expression of slight alarm crossed Finch's features. "No one outside our close circle of friends has asked me the question you just asked. Why do you want to know?"

"I spotted Clove singing and playing guitar at the park one day." I said. "I asked her what the song she had sung was called. She said it was called Blown Away, and that it was about child abuse. She sang the song with such passion, so I wondered if there was a personal story behind it."

"You're the first person outside our close circle of friends that will hear Clove's story." Finch said. "I've only told people that are part of our close circle of friends this story."

Finch began telling the story. "Laura Odair was a famous singer. She was beautiful. She was the wife of Emmett Odair, a famous actor. They were extremely wealthy. Laura and Emmett lived in Oklahoma with their twin children, Clove and Finnick. Clove was the spitting image of Laura, and Finnick was the spitting image of Emmett. Clove got her musical talent from her mom."

"Go on." I said. "Continue."

"When Clove and Finnick were ten, Laura was driving home from a photo shoot one night, and she was killed in a car accident. The paparazzi were all over the story of her death. Emmett didn't even get a phone call from the police; he had to find out about his wife's death from a newspaper article that was published a mere two minutes after Laura was killed." Finch said.

"Continue." I said.

"Emmett became a different man after reading the newspaper article about Laura's death. He quit acting, and he eventually developed a drinking problem. Paparazzi would come to his door once a week, asking him why he quit acting. The answer was always the same: "I don't like it anymore". It was a truthful answer. He didn't like acting anymore." Finch said.

"Go on." I said. "Continue."

"Emmett and the twins moved from Oklahoma to California when Clove and Finnick turned 12. A year later, he began abusing them. It started out as punches and kicks, but things got much worse on their 14th birthday. Finnick got belt lashes, and Clove got raped. Finnick saw the whole thing." Finch said.

"Continue." I said.

"Finnick was so mad at Emmett that he hit him over the head with an empty whiskey bottle, knocking him unconscious. He did that after Clove put her pants and underwear back on. Clove called the police and told them every vivid detail about the abuse. The police came and arrested the still unconscious Emmett. They told the twins to pack up all their possessions and go live with a friend or family member." Finch said.

"Go on." I said. "Continue."

Finch continued telling Clove's story. "Clove and Finnick packed up all their things and went to live with me. Clove told me about the abuse, and I urged her to take a pregnancy test. She did. The result was positive. Clove told me that if the baby was a boy, she would name it Sean, and if it was a girl, she would name it Ava. Clove ended up losing the baby to a miscarriage."

"Continue." I said.

Finch continued telling Clove's story. "The day of Emmett's trial eventually came, and Clove and Finnick testified against their father. I did too. The press was nice enough not to include the child abuse in the articles they wrote about Emmett's trial. They figured it would make the twins uncomfortable."

"Go on." I said. "Continue."

Finch continued telling Clove's story. "Emmett was sentenced to prison for the rest of his life on the charges of alcohol abuse and child abuse. The articles the press wrote about Emmett's trial said that "Emmett Odair was sentenced to prison for the rest of his life on the charge of serious alcohol abuse."

Finch continued telling Clove's story. "The students and staff of this school had all seen the newspaper articles, so they never asked Clove and Finnick questions about their mom's death and their dad's jail sentence. They only asked if they were doing okay. The twins always said they were doing okay. To this day, Clove and Finnick still live with me. Eventually, Finnick started dating Annie. Clove didn't get a boyfriend."

I was blown away by what Finch had just told me. "Wow. I had no idea Clove went through…Hell, basically."

"Of course you didn't." Finch said, not unkindly. "After I told everyone in our close circle of friends about the abuse, Clove said she didn't want to tell anyone else."

"You know, Cato, I don't think the song is the only reason you're interested in Clove's story." Finch said.

"Oh really?" I raised an eyebrow. She's not wrong, but I'm not telling her the other reason unless she guesses it. "Why is that?"

"I've seen the way you look at Clove when she passes you in the hallway." Finch said. "You have a crush on her."

"You're not wrong." I said to Finch. "I don't know if it's possible to develop a crush on someone you barely know."

"It must be." Finch said to me. "Because you've developed a crush on Clove."

"I'm going to give you some advice, Cato. Some genuine girl to guy advice." Finch said to me. "Become friends with Clove; get to know her before asking her out. Trust me, becoming a girl's friend before asking her out works. Marvel and I were friends since elementary school, and he asked me out when we were 13. We've been a couple ever since. It worked with me, and it will work with Clove."

"But my cousin Gloss said that Clove refuses to get close to anyone that's not in her close circle of friends." I said. "What makes you think your advice is gonna work? You and Clove are completely different."

"We're not as different as you think." Finch informed me. Clove may have been through a lot, but she's like any other girl. She wants to go out on dates. She wants a boyfriend.

The next thing that came out of Finch's mouth was: "Clove has told me this dozens of times: "I'm the only single one of the group, and I want to change that."

"Okay." I said. "Thanks for the advice. And thanks for telling me Clove's story. I won't tell anyone unless I have to."

"See you later, Cato." Finch waved to me before walking out of the school's front double doors.

******A/N: Please review this chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7: Friends

Chapter 7: Friends

I had been at Panem High for about a month, and I've sat with Clove and her close circle of friends almost every day. I kept my promise to Finch and never said anything about the abuse. I never told Clove that I knew her story. Clove never told me she considered me a friend, but the others did. I was getting tired of not being considered Clove's friend. Today, I'm going to ask Clove if she wants to be friends.

I met up with Clove at her locker while she was getting ready for our next class, English. "I'm going to be upfront with you, Clove…I want to be your friend. The others told me that they considered me a friend, but you haven't. Since I've been sitting with you and the others for almost a month, I think you should give me a chance. You can trust me, Clove. I won't hurt you, I promise."

I would never hurt Clove. I'm in love with her, for crying out loud! Not that she needed to know that right now.

"Okay, Cato, I'll let you be my friend." Clove said. "But I'm warning you, if you want to be my friend just because I'm rich, I will get my brother to hurt you." She gave me a fierce glare. "He is capable of that, you know."

I knew that. Finnick hit Emmett in the head with an empty whiskey bottle and knocked him unconscious.

"I don't want to be your friend just because you're rich, Clove." I said to her.

"Okay." A small smile crossed Clove's features. "Congratulations, Cato, we're friends."

A small smile crossed my features. "Would you like to go out for coffee after school today, friend?"

"Sure." A small smile crossed Clove's features. She jokingly punched me in the arm. "Pal."

Becoming friends with Clove was a hell of a lot easier than I thought it would be.

******A/N: Please review this chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8: The Project

Chapter 8: The Project

I took a seat next to Clove in our last class of the day, English. We had gotten there after all the other students but before the teacher, so there were no other seats available.

The teacher, Effie Trinket, a 30 year old woman with blonde hair styled in a braid, fair skin, and light blue eyes, caught everyone's attention. "I have a project, students! It will be in pairs. To make things easier, you will be paired up with the person sitting next to you."

Effie explained the project to the class. "This project is called Getting To Know Others. For this project, you will have to ask your partner questions and write a report on their answers. Everyone will read their reports on Tuesday. Get to work, students!"

Clove took a deep breath and whispered in my ear. "I've never told anyone this…I used to be a victim of abuse."

"I know." I whispered back. "Finch told me your story."

"Well, guess you know everything about me, then!" Clove whispered. She was pissed, I could tell. "So you've got a head start!"

"You don't have to be so pissed, Clove." I whispered in her ear. "I asked Finch what your story was. She merely answered my question."

"Okay." Clove whispered. "Let me ask you some personal questions."

She began asking me questions.

"What's your favorite color?"

"Red." I said.

"When's your birthday?"

"November 14." I said.

"Mine's three days after yours." Clove said. "What kind of music do you like?"

"Anything but Justin Bieber, Cody Simpson, the Jonas Brothers, or Greyson Chance." I said.

Clove chuckled at that. "Same here. How many social networking sites do you use?"

"Just one, Facebook." I said. "That's the only social networking site I have an account on."

"Same here. Finnick and I joined Facebook not long after we went to live with Finch." Clove said. "Send us a friend request sometime. I'll accept, and I'm sure he will too."

"I'll do that." I said.

"Is there anything that you did in your past that you wish you hadn't done?" Clove asked me.

"Yeah." I said. "I got mixed up with the wrong crowd at my old school and became a party animal. I did the stupidest shit when I was drunk. I wish I hadn't gotten mixed up with the people I got mixed up with. Like you said, alcohol fucks people up."

"Do you have a favorite flavor of ice cream?"

"Yeah." I said. "it's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough."

"That's mine too." Clove said. "What is your favorite kind of chips?"

"Sour Cream And Bacon, from Ruffles." I said.

"Me too." Clove said. "I think that's enough questions."

"Okay," I said. "When do you want to meet up and work on the project?"

"Tonight, at Finch's house." Clove said. "Finch has a date with Marvel and her parents have to work the night shift. No one will be home."

"All right, sounds good." I said. "Do you have a key?"

"What kind of question is that?" Clove joked. "Of course I have a key!"

Clove opened the door to Finch's house with her house. "Come on in."

"This is a nice house." I said.

"I know." I said. "I'll get my laptop and meet you downstairs, and we'll get started on the project. You can use the computer downstairs."

I walked downstairs. Clove went to my room and came back with her laptop. I was sitting at the computer, typing away. Clove began typing on her laptop.

I looked at Clove. "There's a party tomorrow night at Marvel's. Do you wanna go?"

"I thought you said you weren't a party animal." She teased.

"Marvel said there wouldn't be alcohol involved." I said. "So, what do you say?"

"I was planning on going anyway." Clove said. "All my friends are going."

I glanced at the fully typed report on Clove's laptop. "You're done already?"

"Yeah, I'm done." Clove said. "Are you close to being done?"

"I have one more sentence." I said. I typed the last sentence. "Now I'm done." I pressed the print button. Clove plugged her laptop into the printer of the computer and printed her report off.

I let Clove read my report. It was titled ___Blown Away: The Story Of Clove Odair_.

"This is an amazing report." Clove said. "The class is gonna love this."

Clove let me read her report.

"This is a good report." I said.

"Well, looks like we're done the project." Clove said.

"Actually, we're not." I said.

Clove gave me a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"I'd like to get a video of you singing Blown Away so that I could include it with my report on you." I said.

"All right." Clove said. "I'll grab Finch's digital camera. She uses it to take pictures and put them on Facebook, but it does videos too."

Clove came back downstairs with Finch's camera and a guitar case. She handed the camera to me and sat down on the sofa.

Clove played the introductory chords and began to sing.

___Dry lightning cracks across the skies  
Those storm clouds gather in her eyes  
Her daddy was a mean old mister  
Mama was an angel in the ground  
The weather man called for a twister  
She prayed blow it down_

___There's not enough rain in Oklahoma  
To wash the sins out of that house  
There's not enough wind in Oklahoma  
To rip the nails out of the past_

___Shatter every window 'til it's all blown away,  
Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away  
'Til there's nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday  
Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,  
Blown away_

___She heard those sirens screaming out  
Her daddy laid there passed out on the couch  
She locked herself in the cellar  
Listened to the screaming of the wind  
Some people call it taking shelter  
She called it sweet revenge_

___Shatter every window 'til it's all blown away,  
Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away  
'Til there's nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday  
Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,  
Blown away_

___There's not enough rain in Oklahoma_  
___To wash the sins out of that house_  
___There's not enough wind in Oklahoma_  
___To rip the nails out of the past_

___Shatter every window 'til it's all blown away,  
Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away  
'Til there's nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday  
Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,  
Blown away, blown away, blown away, blown away, blown away._

"And cut!" I yelled. I shut off the camera. "Great job, Clove."

"Thanks." Clove said. "Where are we gonna put this?"

I took a flash drive out of the pocket of my shorts. "On this."

Clove transferred the video from the camera to the flash drive.

"NOW we're done the project." I said. "I should get home. My parents are probably waiting for me."

"Okay." Clove said. "See you at the party, Cato."

"You too, Clove." I said. I waved to her before I walked out the door.

******A/N: Please review this chapter!**


	9. Chapter 9: The Party

Chapter 9: The Party

Tonight was the night of the party. When Finnick and Clove arrived, the party was in full swing.

"Hey guys, glad you could make it." Marvel said to Clove and Finnick. "There are lots of good drinks around here. Beer, tequila, whiskey…you name it, I've got it."

"I thought you said there wasn't going to be alcohol." Clove said to Marvel.

"I changed my mind and decided to include alcohol." Marvel said. "Not everyone is like your dad, Clove. If anyone gets in a fight at this party, I'll kick them out."

"All right." Clove said. "Sounds good."

Annie walked up to Finnick and sloppily threw herself at him. "Hey babe. I'm so horny right now. Let's go to a bedroom and bang." The red solo cup she had in her hand fell to the floor, and red punch spilled all over the floor. Marvel immediately cleaned it up, with Clove's help.

"All right, who got Annie drunk?" Finnick asked the crowd of teenagers.

"It was me." A guy with black hair said. His name was Darius Henderson. "I thought it'd be funny to get sweet, innocent, Annie Cresta drunk."

"You son of a bitch." Finnick punched Darius in the face. "Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, gets Annie drunk!"

"Let's go make out somewhere." Annie giggled.

"Darius, get the fuck out of my house." Marvel said to Darius. "Nobody wants you at this party."

"Clearly, you did." Darius said. "You invited me. It's not a party without the one and only Darius!"

"I'm regretting my decision of inviting you." Marvel said. "Now get the hell out of here!"

"All right, man. Chill.″ Darius said. He left the party.

″Now that Darius is gone, we can REALLY get this party started!″ Finch yelled. ″Let's kick it off with a game of truth or dare!″

Finch started up the first round. ″Okay, Cashmere, truth or dare?″

″Truth.″ Cashmere said.

″What`s something you would never tell a lot of people?″ Finch asked.

″I`m bisexual.″ Cashmere said. ″Gloss, truth or dare?″

″Dare.″ Gloss said.

″I dare you to go to the kitchen, take the ketchup out here, and squirt some of it in your mouth. Make sure to swallow.″ Cashmere said. ″After you are done, put the ketchup back in the fridge.″

Gloss complied with his sister`s dare. When he was done, his face contored into a disgusted expression. ″Yuck. Ketchup tastes nasty by itself.″

Gloss turned to Annie. ″Truth or dare, Annie?″

″Dare.″ Annie, who was still drunk, giggled.

″I dare you to make out with your boyfriend for one minute.″ Gloss said. ″Make it hot and steamy.″

Annie and Finnick engaged in a hot and steamy makeout session. A loud "HEY!" from Katniss caused them to stop making out.

″Well, you two seemed to be having fun.″ Clove wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

″That was HOT.″ Finch said. ″There's no way Annie would have done that if she was sober. She would have picked truth instead of dare.″

″It's your turn, baby. If the other person picks dare, make sure to give them something good.″ Annie, who was still drunk, giggled.

″Marvel, truth or dare?″ Finnick asked Marvel.

″Dare.″ Marvel said.

″I dare you to prank call Finch's mom on your cell phone.″ Finnick said to Marvel.

Marvel pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.

″Mrs. Foxworthy, there's something I have to tell you.″ Marvel made himself sound hesitant.

″Your daughter is pregnant."

″She told me she lost her v-card to Gale last week.″

″She told me it was a threesome.″

The others and I had to bite our lips to keep ourselves from laughing.

″I'm just kidding; your daughter and I are still virgins. This was a prank call. Bye Mrs. Foxworthy.″ Marvel hung up the phone.

Johanna went next. She had gotten the same dare that Gloss did. Finch was up next.

"Truth or dare, Finch?" Johanna had an evil grin on her face.

″Normally I'd pick dare, but since you're giving me that super evil grin of yours, I'm gonna go with truth.″ Finch said.

Johanna smirked. ″What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you?″

Finch's face turned as red as her hair. ″When you made me wear that black bikini for Glimmer's pool party at the end of freshmen year, and the top fell off.″

Katniss howled with laughter. ″I remember that! Good thing you didn't have big boobs back then, or else the boys would REALLY be coming to the yard!″

Rue sang a line from the song Milkshake. ″My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, and damn right, it's better than yours!″

I was the last one up in this truth or dare game.

″Truth or dare, Cato?″ Finch asked me.

″Dare.″ I said without hesitation.

″I dare you to ask your crush on a date.″ Finch smirked at me. ″If she says yes, you have to ask you to be your girlfriend.″

″Call your crush, Cato! Call her!″ Rue cheered.

″I don't have to, because she's sitting right next to me. I turned to Clove. ″Clove, will you go on a date with me, and will you be my girlfriend?″

″Sure Cato.″ Clove said. ″When's our date? I know we're going backwards, but it's not your fault; it was part of the dare.″

When Clove said ″ we're going backwards″, she meant that a guy will ask a girl on a date and THEN ask her to be their girlfriend.

″How does tomorrow night sound?″ I asked her. ″We can catch a movie. Warm Bodies looks pretty good.″

Soon, the party was over. It was a pretty fun party.

**A/N: Please review this chapter!**


	10. Chapter 10: The Date

Chapter 10: The Date

I rang the doorbell and Clove answered the door.

"You look great." I said.

"Thanks." Clove said. "Let's go."

Clove followed me out the front door.

We arrived at the movie theatre exactly 5 minutes before 2:30 p.m. We got tickets to see Warm Bodies at 2:50 p.m. We ordered one large popcorn with butter and 2 bottles of Coca Cola.

"Well hello Cato!" A familiar voice yelled from in front of me. The girl who the voice belonged to turned around. I was face to face with my ex girlfriend from Capitol Academy, a tall and slender blonde girl with a fair skin tone and blue eyes. Her name is Amy. She was wearing FAR too much makeup today, as per usual.

"Hello Amy." I said pleasantly. I'm not rude, even to people I don't like. I don't like Amy. I haven't ever since she cheated on me and then dumped me for the guy she cheated on me with.

"I miss you." Amy pouted. "Come back to Capitol Academy. Come back to me!"

"I'm not coming back to a girl who cheated on me." I said. "I'm happy at my new school. I've got a lot of friends, and a girlfriend who is a hell of a lot prettier than you."

"Oh please." Amy scoffed. "Nobody is prettier than me."

"Amy, this is Clove." I gestured to Clove. "She's my girlfriend."

"Hi Amy." Clove said. "You might want to get rid of some of that makeup. Everyone knows that too much makeup makes you look like a clown."

Amy huffed and got tickets to see Pitch Perfect. She walked away.

I don't know why I ever went out with her. She's SO annoying!

"Well hello CLATO!" A familiar voice yelled. Clove and I turned around and found ourselves face to face with Johanna. She was here with Elliot.

"Hey Johanna." I said.

"Hey Johanna." Clove said. "You look great!"

Johanna had on a black leather miniskirt over black tights, a red long sleeved lace top with a black lace collar, and red boots that stopped at her ankle, with a low heel and black laces. Her long straight brown hair was in a high ponytail. The ponytail was tied with a red hair elastic. Like Clove, she wasn't wearing makeup.

"Thanks." Johanna said. "So do you."

"Thanks." Clove said. She paid the guy working the counter and he gave me and her our tickets and snacks. We headed to the spot in the theatre where Warm Bodies was being shown. Turns out Elliot and Johanna also got tickets to see Warm Bodies.

I sat next to Clove, Johanna sat on the other side of me, and Elliot sat on the other side of Johanna.

The movie started.

"Are you having a good time?" I asked Clove with a pleasant smile.

"Yes I am, Cato." She replied. "How about you?"

"Of course I am." I said. "I'm on a date with the prettiest girl ever." I grabbed Clove's right hand. There was a scene in the movie that was pretty scary, so Clove jumped in surprise along with everyone else and she grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I started to rub my thumb on her hand. "It's okay, Clove, it's only a movie."

After the movie was finally finished, we all headed to Chili's for dinner.

"Table for four, please." Johanna said.

"Well, it just so happens we have a table for four available right now!" The hostess led us to a table for four.

Everyone ordered chili cheese fries. We ate them and then met Finch's mom outisde Chili's. We got into her car. Clove took the front seat. Soon everyone was home.

Soon, I got a text from Clove. I responded immediately. _I did too. I love you Clove. XOXO._

**A/N: Please review this chapter!**


	11. Chapter 11: Blown Away

Chapter 11: Blown Away

Today was the day the projects were due. Miss Trinket randomly picked students to present. Clove and I were the last two she picked.

"You can go first." I said to Clove. She made her way to the front of the room and presented her report on me. She sat back down in her seat. I made my way to the front of the room and addressed the class. "Hello everyone. For this project, I was paired with Clove Odair."

I began presenting my report on Clove.

"I transferred here from Capitol Academy, as you all know. I met Clove in science class. We engaged in small talk. I discovered her last name was Odair, and that she was the daughter of Emmett and Laura Odair. She told me about her mom's death and showed me the newspaper about her dad being sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison, on the charge of serious alcohol abuse. I told her that seemed like a harsh sentence seemed awfully harsh for something as minor…well, compared to some other crimes at least…as alcohol abuse. I asked her if her dad did anything else."

"She got defensive on me and said ″I'm sure. Now…if you would be so kind as to not ask me anymore questions about my parents…that would be greatly appreciated. I apologized to her. She said that she was sorry for snapping at me, but she didn't like that I asked her questions about her parents. She said she gets enough questions from the press."

"Clove discovered that my cousins are the identical twins Gloss and Cashmere. She asked me why I transferred from an elite school like Capitol Academy to an average public school. I told her that I got really drunk one night at a party, did some stupid stuff, and got expelled, and that the principal, Haymitch Abernathy, was the one who expelled me. He said ″too much drinking is not good for you″. That sounded rather ironic coming from him, considering he calls in sick half the time due to being hung-over. I'm not such a party animal anymore." The class chuckled at that.

"At lunch, I talked to Gloss and Cashmere and told them about Clove. They said they knew her and Finnick from classes. Cashmere said that Clove and Finnick are the paparazzo's babies, and that whenever they're on TV, they get bombarded with questions. I told them that I asked Clove some questions about her parents, and that she got all defensive on me."

"Gloss said "well, you can't really blame her for getting defensive. Your dad being sent to prison and your mom getting killed in a car wreck aren't exactly things you'd bring up in casual conversation." Cashmere advised me not to get close to Clove. She said that Clove refuses to have a serious conversation with anyone that's not in her close circle of friends."

"Cashmere told me that almost everyone in school wants to be friends with Clove and Finnick, since they're famous. As you know, Clove and Finnick are famous because their parents were big time celebrities. Even though their parents aren't celebrities anymore, they're still the two richest people in California. She also said that Clove refuses to make friends with anyone, and that she's happy with just her close circles of friends. I ended up sitting with Gloss and Cashmere at lunch that day. After school that day, I saw Clove at the track meet. I sat on the bleachers next to her and engaged in more small talk. We discovered we live on the same street."

"I decided I'd try out for Panem High's football team. I played football at my old school. Public schools were allowed to play private schools in sporting events, and Panem High whooped our butts every time they played us. I needed to get back in shape so I'd be ready for tryouts. I headed to the park and ran a few laps. I stopped running laps when I heard guitar playing and singing."

"Directly in front of me was Clove, sitting on a park bench. She was playing a Gibson Hummingbird Heritage Cherry Sunburst acoustic guitar. She had a really good voice. Everyone had stopped what they were doing to listen to her sing. She was singing with such passion in her voice. I wondered if there was a personal story behind the song she was singing."

"When Clove finished singing, I complimented her on her musical talent and asked her if she wrote a lot of songs. She said that she's written a few songs, and that they were happy songs, unlike the one she had just sung. She said it was called Blown Away, and that it was about child abuse."

"I resumed running laps, and there was only one thought in my mind: there has GOT to be a personal story behind the song Clove just sang. And I'm gonna figure out what that story is."

"I made the football team. I got the quarterback position. I was quarterback at my old school. One day, I spotted Clove's friend Finch talking to her boyfriend Marvel at her locker. When Marvel left, I talked to Finch. I asked her what Clove's story was. An expression of slight alarm crossed Finch's features. She told me that no one outside Clove's circle of friends has asked her the question I just asked. She asked me why I wanted to know. I told her about the song. She said that I was the first person outside her close circle of friends that would hear Clove's story, and that she has only told people that were part of her close circle of friends Clove's story."

"This is Clove's story." I said. "Laura Odair was a famous singer. She was beautiful. She was the wife of Emmett Odair, a famous actor. They were extremely wealthy. Laura and Emmett lived in Oklahoma with their twin children, Clove and Finnick. Clove was the spitting image of Laura, and Finnick was the spitting image of Emmett. Clove got her musical talent from her mom."

"When Clove and Finnick were ten, Laura was driving home from a photo shoot one night, and she was killed in a car accident. The paparazzi were all over the story of her death. Emmett didn't even get a phone call from the police; he had to find out about his wife's death from a newspaper article that was published a mere two minutes after Laura was killed."

"Emmett became a different man after reading the newspaper article about Laura's death. He quit acting, and he eventually developed a drinking problem. Paparazzi would come to his door once a week, asking him why he quit acting. The answer was always the same: "I don't like it anymore". It was a truthful answer. He didn't like acting anymore."

"Emmett and the twins moved from Oklahoma to California when Clove and Finnick turned 12. A year later, he began abusing them. It started out as punches and kicks, but things got much worse on their 14th birthday. Finnick got belt lashes, and Clove got sexually assaulted. Finnick saw the whole thing."

Cashmere gasped, a hand flying to her mouth.

"Finnick was so mad at Emmett that he hit him over the head with an empty whiskey bottle, knocking him unconscious. He did that after Clove put her pants and underwear back on. Clove called the police and told them every vivid detail about the abuse. The police came and arrested the still unconscious Emmett. They told the twins to pack up all their possessions and go live with a friend or family member."

"Clove and Finnick packed up all their things and went to live with Finch, since none of their relatives lived in California. Clove told Finch about the abuse, and Finch urged her to take a pregnancy test. She did. The result was positive. Clove told Finch that if the baby was a boy, she would name it Sean, and if it was a girl, she would name it Ava. Clove ended up losing the baby to a miscarriage."

By now, the girls in the class were in tears. Effie was too. Some of the guys even shed a few tears. Contrary to popular belief, guys cry too.

I didn't blame them for crying. This was a sad story.

"The day of Emmett's trial eventually came, and Clove and Finnick testified against their father. Finch did too. The press was nice enough not to include the child abuse in the articles they wrote about Emmett's trial. They figured it would make the twins uncomfortable."

"Emmett was sentenced to prison for the rest of his life on the charges of alcohol abuse and child abuse. The articles the press wrote about Emmett's trial said that "Emmett Odair was sentenced to prison for the rest of his life on the charge of serious alcohol abuse."

"The students and staff of this school had all seen the newspaper articles, so they never asked Clove and Finnick questions about their mom's death and their dad's jail sentence. They only asked if they were doing okay. The twins always said they were doing okay. To this day, Clove and Finnick still live with Finch. Eventually, Finnick started dating the captain of the volleyball team, Annie Cresta. Clove didn't get a boyfriend."

"I was blown away by Clove's story." I said. "I told Finch that I had no idea Clove had been through so much. She said "of course you didn't. After I told everyone in our close circle of friends about the abuse, Clove said she didn't want to tell anyone else." Finch told me that she didn't think the song was the only reason I was interested in hearing Clove's story. She told me she had figured out that I had a crush on Clove."

"Finch told me 'I'm going to give you some advice, Cato. Some genuine girl to guy advice. Become friends with Clove; get to know her before asking her out. Trust me, becoming a girl's friend before asking her out works. Marvel and I were friends since elementary school, and he asked me out when we were 13. We've been a couple ever since. It worked with me, and it will work with Clove'."

"I told her 'but my cousin Gloss said that Clove refuses to get close to anyone that's not in her close circle of friends. What makes you think your advice is gonna work? You and Clove are completely different'."

"Finch told me 'we're not as different as you think. Clove may have been through a lot, but she's like any other girl. She wants to go out on dates. She wants a boyfriend'."

"The next thing that came out of Finch's mouth was: "Clove has told me this dozens of times: 'I'm the only single one of the group, and I want to change that'."

"I promised Finch that I wouldn't tell anyone about the abuse unless I had to. I became friends with Clove and eventually ended up asking her out. We're a couple now."

"Clove's song and story blew me away. It inspired the title for this report: _Blown Away: The Story Of Clove Odair_."

The class erupted in applause. I held up a hand. "I'm not done yet. There's more. I got a video of Clove singing Blown Away while we were working on this project at Finch's house."

I plugged the flash drive into Effie's computer and opened up the video.

___Dry lightning cracks across the skies  
Those storm clouds gather in her eyes  
Her daddy was a mean old mister  
Mama was an angel in the ground  
The weather man called for a twister  
She prayed blow it down_

___There's not enough rain in Oklahoma  
To wash the sins out of that house  
There's not enough wind in Oklahoma  
To rip the nails out of the past_

___Shatter every window 'til it's all blown away,  
Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away  
'Til there's nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday  
Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,  
Blown away_

___She heard those sirens screaming out  
Her daddy laid there passed out on the couch  
She locked herself in the cellar  
Listened to the screaming of the wind  
Some people call it taking shelter  
She called it sweet revenge_

___Shatter every window 'til it's all blown away,  
Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away  
'Til there's nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday  
Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,  
Blown away_

___There's not enough rain in Oklahoma_  
___To wash the sins out of that house_  
___There's not enough wind in Oklahoma_  
___To rip the nails out of the past_

___Shatter every window 'til it's all blown away,  
Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away  
'Til there's nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday  
Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,  
Blown away, blown away, blown away, blown away, blown away._

"Now I'm done." I said.

The class erupted in applause. The other students in our class wiped away their tears.

Effie blew into a tissue. "That was an excellent report, Cato!" She wiped her tears away.

Everyone surrounded Clove's desk. Here are some of the things they said to her:

"Your dad is an asshole." Gloss was the one who said that. Effie didn't even scold him for his foul language.

"You poor thing! I had no idea you've been through so much!" Cashmere was the one who said that.

"Your dad is a terrible person!"

"Now I know why you cover up every day; to hide the scars."

"You and Clove make a cute couple."

"Thanks." I said to the brown haired girl who had said that.

I hugged Clove. "I love you."

"I know." Clove hugged me back. "I love you too."

"Your story blew me away." Effie was the one who said that.

"It blew me away too." I said to Effie.

THE END

**A/N: Please review!**


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